


Something Bloomed.

by bidachii



Series: the teddy bear and the devil in disguise. [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Cuddling & Snuggling, Feelings, Gen, M/M, but cheolsoo are not, or are they?, wonshua are boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22037734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidachii/pseuds/bidachii
Summary: In the time it took for Seungcheol to formulate an answer, Jisoo finally gave him a closer look. Like this, under the bright lighting of the apartment, Seungcheol resembled the best friend he knew once more.The Seungcheol Christian Choi before him was so familiar, yet so… unfamiliar. Jisoo’s heart twisted, painfully.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Jeon Wonwoo
Series: the teddy bear and the devil in disguise. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/917469
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Something Bloomed.

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for shua's birthday, and although it's a few hours after the 30th in my place now, it's still the 30th somewhere in the world, so,,,
> 
> for oppa; the seungcheol to my joshua, the reason why this au exists. for d; the one who supplied me with svt content before i started getting to know them. for sasa; the one who always loves my writing no matter what.
> 
> for all the joshushushu's who stumbled upon this fic.
> 
> this isn't much, but i hope you enjoy reading this ♥
> 
> p.s.: christian is seungcheol's english name. josh and chris always talk in english to each other. :>

“I’m going on a date tomorrow.”

Jisoo almost choked on his Coke, so he quickly moved the drink away from him, placing it on the coffee table; coughing anyway to make sure no liquid was actually trying to pass by his throat in the wrong way. When he was done, he aimed a skeptical gaze at Seungcheol, who was chomping down on a piece of pizza without a care for his best friend’s safety.

“You’re joking... right?” he asked, making sure not to miss even the slightest details on Seungcheol’s expression that might give himself away.

But Seungcheol leveled his gaze with Jisoo’s, traces of mischief nowhere to be found. _He’s serious_ , Jisoo realized. He rarely saw Seungcheol being like this, so his curiosity won over his surprise.

He asked, head tilted slightly to the left, “with whom?”

“This granddaughter of this grandma in my neighborhood. She really insisted on it, so.” Seungcheol shrugged, like it was not a big deal for him. It probably was not. Yet Jisoo found himself suddenly… uncomfortable? Restless?

“Oh.” He managed, eyes turning to the random Thursday drama playing on TV, serving for background sounds while they were having dinner. “Alright. Good luck.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see Seungcheol directing an contemplating look at him, but Jisoo did not return the gaze.

“I don’t want to disappoint the grandma,” Seungcheol started, slowly, “so I have to be the perfect gentleman for the granddaughter. Guess who can help me?”

Jisoo did not like where this was going.

“So you gave him a crash course to being a gentleman for the rest of the day? Because he’s going on a date with some girl?” Jeonghan’s indignance was heard loud and clear even amidst the busy chatter in the cafeteria. Jisoo pressed his lips into a thin line, having expected Jeonghan to nag him. His best friend probably thought he was being stupid.

“What did you expect me to do? I couldn’t just say no to him.” Jisoo frowned at Jeonghan, who was giving him a deadpan look.

“Of course you could,” Jeonghan said, without hesitation, “until when are you planning to be swept up in his business?”

Jisoo, of course, had no real answer to that, so he kept his mouth shut and chose to focus his attention to fiddling with his phone. After a while, Jeonghan heaved a heavy sigh.

“Does Wonwoo know about this?”

Jisoo could not help the whine that escaped his throat, which Jeonghan gave an amused look to. Once again Jeonghan proved himself to be quite the observer, already able to ask the right questions when it had not even been two years since he became friends with Jisoo and Seungcheol.

Although sometimes Jisoo wished Jeonghan could take it easy with the questions…

“I haven’t told him yet,” Jisoo told Jeonghan, sighing. He did not think it would be an issue with the younger man, Jisoo only needed to actually _tell_ him.

“You should. Like, right now.” Jeonghan advised, focusing his attention back to stirring his black coffee with its plastic stirrer. “He’s your boyfriend – he has the right to know.”

Jeonghan was right, as usual. And it was not like Jisoo was trying to hide it from Wonwoo, either.

So he told Wonwoo all about it later on, while walking toward Jisoo’s apartment. Predictably, Wonwoo was calm about it, no traces of negativity in his expression and voice. This was one of the reasons why Jisoo liked him – Wonwoo had always readily accepted everything about him, including his friends. Seungcheol in particular. Jisoo was thankful that Wonwoo was not one of those extremely jealous lovers.

“I don’t see a problem,” he said, shrugging, “he’s your friend. He asked for your help. You helped him.”

Jisoo breathed in relief.

“I’m curious, though.” Wonwoo added, looking at Jisoo. “Are _you_ okay with it?”

_Am I?_ was the first thing Jisoo thought before he realized that Wonwoo was asking _him_ the question. Internally, he panicked, because he did not know what Wonwoo meant by it.

So he plastered a clueless face, confusion surely shining in his eyes. “I don’t… understand?”

Wonwoo stared at him, thoughtful, for what felt like forever. Long enough to send Jisoo’s brain into full-on panic mode, and his anxiety was creeping coldly up the back of his neck. When Wonwoo was about to open his mouth again, Jisoo's phone vibrated violently in his pocket, almost making him jump.

It was Jeonghan calling. Jisoo shot an apologetic look, which Wonwoo replied with a reassuring smile.

"Yes, Jeonghan?"

" _Shua-yah! Are you home yet? There's this new restaurant I wanted to go to but my friend bailed…_ ” He could feel Jeonghan’s pout even through the phone call. Jeonghan was not really pouting, he was sure of it, but Jisoo knew when his best friend wanted something.

Jisoo sighed with slight defeat. He did not have other plans anyway. “As long as you’re paying.”

“ _Great! I’ll send you my location, then! Love you, Shua-yah~_ ” And with that, Jeonghan hung up. A second later, there was a message notification from Jeonghan – the promised location. It was not that far from his apartment.

“Want me to go with you?” Wonwoo offered, eyeing him. Jisoo thought about it, then shook his head.

“I’ll be fine, it’s just dinner with Jeonghan. Besides, don’t you have a job to go to?”

Wonwoo shrugged. "I could call in sick and the head librarian would be none the wiser."

"You're willing to do that for me?" Jisoo chuckled, since it was so unlike his boyfriend to skip on responsibilities just to do something else that was totally unrelated.

A stray wind breezed by, ruffling their hair. Wonwoo reached out to tuck some wild strands behind Jisoo's ear, carefully as if he was afraid of hurting him. His fingers lingered, his touch gentle against Jisoo's cheek.

"Anything for you."

There was an intensity in Wonwoo's eyes that Jisoo had only seen once when the younger man confessed. It made him feel special. It made him feel _loved_.

Smiling, Jisoo stepped closer and leaned his front against Wonwoo, uncaring of the world around them. He did not need them. As long as Wonwoo wanted him, that was all he needed.

Softly, he whispered, "I know."

Jeonghan forgot to mention that the restaurant he mentioned was a bit high-class. Jisoo felt underclothed with his navy blue shirt and dark jeans. It was a good thing he went with the smart casual look, his gray checkered blazer helping him not look too lousy.

Jisoo stepped into the restaurant, and when a waitress wearing a white button-up, a black necktie, vest and skirt asked if she could help him, he gave Jeonghan’s name. After checking, she told him she could not find Jeonghan’s name on their list and inquired whether a reservation was made or not. Jisoo was confused, his mind reeling, wondering if he had made a mistake somewhere although he had triple-checked the location and the name of the restaurant before entering. He apologized for the hassle, thanked the waitress, then turned around to—

“Josh?”

There was a gentle touch on his arm, making Jisoo pause before whirling around with widened eyes. Seungcheol stood there, but… he somehow looked like a stranger.

“Chris? Why are you—” _Oh_. Right. He said he was going on a date. Was it now? Here?

“Well.” Seungcheol gestured a hand toward a seat further back, and Jisoo could see the young woman sitting there bowing her head slightly as a greeting. “Why are you here? Are you,” he frowned, his hold on Jisoo’s arm tightened a fraction, “with someone?”

Jisoo blinked, wondering if he imagined the dark look on his best friend’s expression, but all he could see now was Seungcheol's curious gaze.

"Oh. No, I was," he rubbed the back of his neck, worried they might be making a little scene, since they were talking in English and all, "supposed to meet Jeonghan. But I probably got the wrong place."

Seungcheol threw a glance outside. "Never saw Jeonghan. Maybe he was pulling your leg?"

Of course. That was possible. The thing was, Jeonghan had never pranked Jisoo like this. Was it really a prank, though? Jeonghan _did_ send him his location, and it was not like Jeonghan to bother coming to the actual place just to prank _him_ , of all people.

Unless he was planning something…

"Just join me," he heard Seungcheol say, and Jisoo's mouth dropped in surprise.

"But— You're on a _date_!"

Seungcheol only said _don't worry about that_ before holding his hand, gently pulling him toward the table seating one young woman.

The woman's name was Nayoung, and she was the same age as both Seungcheol and him. She told him that her grandmother had been pestering her to meet Seungcheol for months; and that she became admittedly curious about what kind of person he was after listening to her grandmother go on and on about how Seungcheol would always help her. Jisoo could only listen with a patient smile on his face. He knew this. He knew all about Seungcheol's kindness and he did not need other people to reiterate it to him. But what else could he do except smile, nod, and say words of agreement on the perfect timing?

In the end, Jisoo spent most of the time staying silent, preferring to let Seungcheol and Nayoung do all the talking. He was not supposed to be there, anyway. Jeonghan better not think he would get away with this.

"Thank you for your time, I had fun," Nayoung said after retrieving her credit card. For some reason, she and Seungcheol decided to go Dutch, even though Jisoo had reminded Seungcheol over and over to pay for everything. Although, maybe it was fine, since Jisoo could not trace any dissatisfaction on her expression. "Perhaps we should do this again sometime."

"Sure. Bring your grandma along." Seungcheol was smiling gently at her, and once again Jisoo felt as if he did not know him. With how Seungcheol was dressed right now, he might as well be a stranger.

"It was also nice meeting you, Jisoo," Nayoung told him, a small but sincere smile gracing her features. She was so pretty, it would not surprise him if Seungcheol decided to— "Seungcheol wouldn't stop talking about you before you came in. I was getting curious."

_Excuse me?_

There was a grunt coming from Seungcheol before he walked closer to the big road saying he would get a taxi for Nayoung. Jisoo was puzzled by his reaction, but Nayoung only giggled.

"He's not very honest, is he?" she asked, rhetorically. Jisoo chuckled, nonetheless, though his mind was still looping around Nayoung's last statement.

"I'm sorry about today, um." Jisoo figured he should apologize for intruding on her date with Seungcheol. He was never supposed to be there. He was stressing over it, biting his lower lip nervously. "I didn't mean to disturb you guys on your date. I'll be more careful next time, I'm so sorry."

Nayoung blinked at him, once, twice, before laughing. Jisoo hoped she was not laughing _at_ him. "Oh, no. No, it wasn't a date. Well," she straightened up, still chuckling, "at least both Seungcheol and I don't think so. My grandma is a different story."

"But Chris—Seungcheol said…" _He said he was going on a date… was it a lie? If it was, why?_

Jisoo's bewildered look only made Nayoung smile. "Seungcheol really wouldn't stop mentioning you. Joshua this, Joshua that. Joshua would do this, Joshua wouldn't do that. It was to the point I got a little envious."

That stopped Jisoo right in his track. Astonished, he looked at Nayoung with wide eyes. Nayoung's smile took on a knowing color.

"Anyone who spends some time with both of you would notice that he cares about you a lot, Jisoo."

Walks home with Seungcheol were never silent in Jisoo's entire life. If it was, then that meant there was something wrong.

Tonight was one of those times.

Seungcheol looked deep in thought, Jisoo did not dare to talk to him. When the silence was broken, it was after they entered Jisoo’s apartment.

"Josh?" Seungcheol called, hovering by the entranceway. Jisoo, who had already put his blazer away, walked back toward his best friend.

"You coming in? Aren't you staying over?"

In the time it took for Seungcheol to formulate an answer, Jisoo finally gave him a closer look. Like this, under the bright lighting of the apartment, Seungcheol resembled the best friend he knew once more.

It was weird, seeing Seungcheol tonight. His usually messy black hair was neatly parted on the side. His shirts and hoodies had been replaced with a white button-up, unbuttoned at the top, and a vermillion-colored suit jacket. In place of his jeans and sneakers were a pair of vermillion-colored dress pants and black Oxfords, the only pair he had since high school. The smell of cologne was wafting from Seungcheol’s direction and— _was Seungcheol wearing make-up_?

The Seungcheol Christian Choi before him was so familiar, yet so… unfamiliar. Jisoo’s heart twisted, painfully.

“Hey, I want to, um, apologize,” Seungcheol said, stepping closer to Jisoo. Somehow, Jisoo tensed. “Sorry for forcing you to sit with me and Nayoung. Not sure what came over me. When I saw you standing alone, I was just…” He trailed off, falling into another thought train. Jisoo waited for him to continue, but when he did not, Jisoo was quick to reassure him.

“It’s fine, I was surprised, but… at least it ended well?”

Honestly, Jisoo did not know what to say anymore since learning that what Seungcheol went on was not a date. Had it really been a date, it would be easier for Jisoo to find the right words, to assure Seungcheol that everything went well. But it was not, therefore Jisoo found himself losing words.

Seungcheol kept staring at the floor for another breathless moment before heaving a long sigh. When he raised his head to look directly into Jisoo’s eyes, Jisoo felt his heart stutter.

“Can I stay over?”

As if Jisoo would ever say no.

What would other people do in Jisoo’s predicament? Having a boyfriend, normally one would keep even friends at an arm's length. Yet here Jisoo was, about to sleep in the same bed as his best friend. Nothing out of the norm for the two of them. The atmosphere was just kind of different today and it made his head spin.

Seungcheol came out of the bathroom ruffling his wet hair with a towel, turning off the lights as he approached the bed. When he turned the table lamp on Jisoo’s desk, the towel had already disappeared. Jisoo frowned.

“Did you throw the towel to the floor?”

“It’s dirty.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you can—”

Jisoo did not need excellent lighting for him to know Seungcheol was rolling his eyes. “Just shut up and scoot over.”

He narrowed his eyes at his best friend, but complied. His bed was big enough for two fully-grown adults to sleep in, although there was not much room for anything else. Jisoo’s shoulder was pressing against the cold wall after Seungcheol slipped underneath the blanket. The heat from Seungcheol’s arm was comforting, familiar. But he was too hesitant to do anything else.

“You’re not being clingy,” Seungcheol said. Jisoo only hummed in response, because he did not know what to say. He was feeling… weird. “Is it because…” Seungcheol never finished that sentence. Jisoo stayed silent.

That was, until he remembered something. “By the way, how much do I owe you for dinner?”

“Hmm?”

“You know. Earlier, at the restaurant. You paid for my share. How much was it?”

“Oh, that.” Seungcheol moved to change his position. Somehow, for whatever reason, he decided to face Jisoo’s direction. “You don’t need to pay me, it’s fine.”

“Oh,” Jisoo said, suddenly forgetting words. Usually, Seungcheol would be the one reminding him that he owed him something, which Jisoo was fine with, but this was really unusual in Seungcheol’s standards. Not that Jisoo was complaining, only that he was on high alert.

Jisoo knew something was wrong, but he did not know _what_ was, and that drove his mind half into overdrive. He felt like he was failing as the person closest to Seungcheol.

There was a soft exhale, then—

_warmth_.

“You’re thinking too much.”

In the span of a few seconds, Seungcheol had closed the distance between them, curled an arm around Jisoo’s waist and started patting him assuringly.

It was amazing how Seungcheol always knew how to make Jisoo relax – either knowingly or unknowingly. They had been friends for such a long time; it might be natural for him, but Jisoo would always be amazed because he never thought he was worthy of such comfort. Seungcheol had proven him wrong time and time again.

To Jisoo, Seungcheol was a lot of things. But mainly, and most importantly – Seungcheol was his _home_.

Being right at home he was enveloped in Seungcheol’s embrace, Jisoo snuggled closer, tucking his head under Seungcheol’s chin. He smelled like Jisoo’s body wash. Vanilla. Jisoo closed his eyes.

“Sorry for today,” he mumbled.

Seungcheol’s fingers stopped rubbing Jisoo’s back, and Jisoo could imagine him with an eyebrow raised, glaring at him. The imagery almost made him laugh.

“You’re still on that? Jesus, Josh, stop it already and thank me or something.”

_Come to think of it_ , Jisoo opened his eyes in realization. _I never thanked Chris for anything today._ He did not thank Seungcheol for saving him from an embarrassing situation, or for inviting him to sit with him and Nayoung, or for not forgetting to include him in conversations. Or for the meal. God, he was being a bad friend.

“Not that… I’m forcing you to do it or anything…”

At that, Jisoo honestly laughed. Out loud. The way Seungcheol said it, mumbled as if secretly hoping Jisoo would not hear it, was so funny to him. Was _tsundere_ the correct word to describe Seungcheol? Jisoo would say it was.

When his laugh had reduced to giggles, Jisoo pulled away slightly to be able to see Seungcheol’s face. There was a scowl, but Jisoo mostly focused on the small pout. He smiled.

“Thanks for today, Chris,” he said, “thanks for everything today.”

Seungcheol stared at him with his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Had the main lamp been on, the slow reddening of his cheeks would have been visible. Jisoo sent him another wave of bright smile before diving back into the crook of Seungcheol’s neck. Seungcheol cleared his throat.

“Just go to sleep,” Jisoo heard him say, his fingers resuming their soothing patterns on Jisoo’s back. Jisoo muffled his yawn.

“Please kick Jeonghan’s ass for me tomorrow.”

Seungcheol chuckled, “sure. Would do it anyway.”

“What time’s your first class?”

“Dunno,” Seungcheol paused, yawning, “don’t care.”

It was Jisoo’s turn to pout, albeit hidden from Seungcheol’s view. “You should care.”

“Eh.” His best friend shrugged lazily. “Have more important stuff to care about.”

“Like your grandma and your bear family?”

There was an amused snort. “Sure.”

Jisoo’s eyes were already closing, his mind floating. “I miss your grandma...”

“Me too.”

“Next time… visit her…”

“Yeah. I’ll let you know.”

Seungcheol waited a moment, and when the only response he got was Jisoo’s even breathing, he slowly released a deep breath. He had to calm his heart down, lest he would not be able to sleep. He did not mind, though, as long as Jisoo was sleeping peacefully. As long as he was comfortable.

“Sweet dreams, Josh.”

It was a good night.

**Author's Note:**

> for joshua; happy birthday, bub ♥ i hope 2020 only brings you good things. my wish is always for you to always be happy and healthy. i'm super glad to have learned about you. thank you for existing.


End file.
